


The Girl Who Looks Like Kuroko Tetsuya

by BlaiseCandell



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Female Kuroko Tetsuya, Genderbending, Genderswap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:27:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25802872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlaiseCandell/pseuds/BlaiseCandell
Summary: In the third year of middle school for the Generation of Miracles, an incident occurs that takes Kuroko Tetsuya out of action. In his place, a girl close to him who looks similar to him ends up taking on his name, vowing to keep his life in order until he is able to continue it by himself. This creates a butterfly effect that changes the course of events in the series.
Relationships: Kagami Taiga & Kuroko Tetsuya, Kise Ryouta/Kuroko Tetsuya, Kuroko Tetsuya & Midorima Shintarou, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	1. Kuroko's First Days Of School (Ficlets #1-5)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So my friend dragged me to watch Kuroko no Basuke with her recently, and I ended up becoming completely obsessed, which is something that happens fairly frequently. (Thanks, Cass. Like I didn't have enough obsessions already.) So together, we decided to write a fic! Mainly, this is just ficlets set in the same universe, though as of now, what we have written is mostly in chronological order, with each chapter covering a certain period of time. Hope you enjoy it! Basically, for this AU, the only thing you specifically need to know is that Kuroko is a girl, and that at some point, this Kuroko replaced the Kuroko from the anime, causing a ripple effect.

**#1: First Day: Black**

Kuroko Tetsuya blinks as the coach calls her name. “I’m here,” she says. Aida lets out a loud shout, as expected. Still not as loud as Aomine or Kise, but no one’s ever been as loud as those two. (Oh, she misses them already.)

“I’ve been here the whole time,” she says, feeling nostalgic.

It was like this on the first day that she walked into Teiko as well.

The day when everyone found out that there were two Kuroko Tetsuya.

*****

“I’ve been here the whole time,” she says nonchalantly. Midorima lets out a sputter as he moves away from her. They all look exactly like they do in the photos that Tetsu took of them, full of life, full of strange personalities. Also, the hair colour. (Which she has to admit, is entirely hypocritical of her to comment on, but she is digressing. They look exactly like she expects.) The others all begin to talk and for a moment, she thinks that she has succeeded.

Then, Akashi speaks up.

“You’re not Kuroko-kun,” he says. “Who are you?”

Silence fills the room before Kise speaks up. “Oi, Akashicchi, are you sure you’re fine? I know that basketball hit you really hard just now, but—” Midorima covers his mouth, presumably to avoid him self-destructing by insulting Akashi. Kuroko sighs.

She should have known. From what Tetsu says, she would never have been able to fool someone like Akashi Seijuro.

“I suppose I can’t fool you,” she says softly. “You’re right. I’m not the Kuroko Tetsuya that you know.”

“What?”

“Kurochin, what?”

She stands up. “Tetsu isn’t able to come to school right now,” she says. “Something bad happened. So for now, I’m taking his place so that he doesn’t have trouble when he comes back here so that he can continue with his life when he returns. Is that alright with all of you?”

“Like hell it is!” Aomine grabs her shirt and he’s about to push her back towards the locker—before he freezes. “You… you…”

She calmly pushes him away from her. “I’m a girl,” she says. “Now, how do you want to settle this?”

She is not Kuroko Tetsuya. But she will be him for as long as she can until Tetsu finally heals enough to come home. That is what she has decided.

*****

The Generation of Miracles helped her to cover for her gender back when they were in middle school. But when Aida Riko tells them all to take off their shirts, Kuroko knows that she can’t afford to let her secret get out so early.

“Aida-san,” she says. “May I talk to you about something?”

She spins an incredibly vague and completely unsubstantiated tale about scars and is excused from taking off her shirt. Instead, they organise a game to try and see the aptitude of the new students. That's fine by her. She'd much rather prove her skills in practice than let herself be judged on how she looks. 

She is aware that she does not look like much.

First-year students versus second-year students.

They are meant to lose this. It's a pity that Kuroko has never cared much about what she is meant to do.

She does her tap passes easily, moving between people. She keeps to misdirection and tries not to do too much. It will do no good to completely reveal her skills now. She is… admittedly not as good as Tetsu. Tetsu was a complete master of misdirection, he could keep it up for an incredibly long time, but he was always quite physically weak and lacked the ability to do more than pass. Her misdirection is still able to last about two quarters compared to his thirty-five minutes, but her main skills…

Well…

They aren’t quite the same as Tetsu’s. She could never be exactly like him. Luckily, these people will never know the difference.

The game ends with the first years having doubled the sophomores’ score. 42-108. Everyone is staring at her, the person who made it happen, the ‘boy’ who sent every ball where it needed to go. “Kuroko Tetsuya,” she says. “Year One. I’m a shadow and a passer, and I am from Teiko Middle School. I played in ninety per cent of the games. Please take care of me.”

“You played at Teiko?” 

“Ninety per cent?”

“They called me the phantom sixth player of the Generation of Miracles,” she says. “I hope that we’ll get along.”

Aida apologises for underestimating her.

“Don’t worry. Everyone does.”

Tetsu has always… he has always been stronger than her. They’re shadows, but he is bolder.

She misses him more than she can say.

* * *

**#2: Meeting of the Spectrum: Black**

As they are packing up, the results still clear on the board, her phone rings. The soft sound of Clair de Lune plays and she cringes. Kuroko likes assigning each person a distinct ringtone. It gives her an idea of who is calling before she even sees the name.

She knows exactly who this ringtone belongs to.

She excuses herself and picks up the phone, pretending that she doesn’t know that everyone else is listening in. “Akashi-kun,” she says as she picks up the phone.

(“What, the Akashi Seijuro?)

(“Idiot, what other Akashis are there?”)

(“She really is from Teiko!”)

Akashi clears his throat. “I wish to meet with you,” he says. “There are some things that we have to talk about… Kuroko-san.”

She flinches.

She hasn’t heard that honorific for a very long time. 

“Acknowledged,” she says. “Akashi-kun… I…” she can’t bring herself to say much else and hangs up the phone. “Sorry. Akashi-kun is in trouble. May I go to help him?” Everyone is still starstruck and so she’s allowed to go. She doubts that Seirin will stay starstruck for long though, which she would prefer. She does not want scrutiny. More importantly, she does not want admiration, or respect because of where she came from. She does not want to be held on a pedestal. She has had enough of that. She has seen what it does to other people and does not want to repeat that mistake herself.

Kuroko does not think that she is infallible. She can be corrupted by power, similarly to everyone else. Just like everyone else was…

She walks and walks. Eventually…

Eventually, she reaches the convenience store near Teiko.

“You fell for it too, huh?” An arm slings around her shoulders before she can react, and her eyes meet yellow ones that gleam with mischief. “Hello, Kurokocchi! Akashicchi sure got us good, huh?”

“Eh, Kurochin fell for it too? But Kurochin is the smartest.”

“Oha Asa’s prediction had Aquarius in last place today. I suppose your skill is dulled.”

“Tsk, then what does that say about all of us? Satsuki, where on earth is Akashi?”

“No clue, Dai-chan.”

It all comes rushing back in crystal clear familiarity. This beautiful, nostalgic situation. She's been in it so many times.

She's hit with a horrible sadness as she wonders why it turned out this way. 

She grits her teeth as Kise Ryota smiles at her with that easy smile he always has on his face. “Don’t look so sad, Kurokocchi!” His arm is very strategically placed so that even if she misdirects, she can’t escape fast enough. “Sorry about this, but we can’t have you run away!”

“Kise-kun,” she says. 

She glances around, before she prepares to misdirect. She can still try, Kise might not be able to catch her if she does it fast enough, she can't stay here with them when it makes her heart hurt—

“Kuroko.”

She tenses. She sees everyone else tense as well, as the last member of their group approaches with a smile on his face, swinging around a pair of scissors in his hand.

“Shintaro. Ryota. Daiki. Satsuki. Atsushi.”

“Akashi-kun,” she says. “Please be careful with your scissors. I don’t want anyone getting hurt, not even you.”

She hears Kise inhale sharply. “Are you insane?” He mutters. His arm tightens around her, protective and worried for her. He's positioned so that he's between her and Akashi.

Only a little.

Akashi inclines his head. “I will keep that in mind, Kuroko.” He takes a step closer and Kise tenses, staying close to her. Akashi frowns. “There’s no need to strangle her, Ryota.”

Kise gives her a worried look before stepping away.

“How’s your school, Kuroko?”

She keeps her head high. “I met someone,” she says. “He’s… his potential is similar to that of all of you. He’s a Generation of Miracles who never went to Teiko.”

“We are the Generation of Miracles,” Akashi says. “No one else is part of us.”

She inclines her head. “You are correct.”

She will never…

To her, she never wants to accept that anyone else could be part of the Generation of Miracles except this group of people.

Akashi raises an eyebrow, nods and pats her on the shoulder. “I simply wanted to check on all of you,” he says to them. “Kuroko—” 

He turns back and she is already gone, hiding behind a nearby tree. He sighs in exasperation.

She runs.

It’s what she does best. She runs and she hides.

She never wants to be confronted with these caricatures of her best friends again.

* * *

**#3: First Impressions: Orange on Black**

Kuroko Tetsuya is a very strange boy, Kagami thinks when he first meets him. Kuroko is stoic, quiet, speaks in a calm tone all the time. Not calm… just very empty. He isn’t sure what to think. 

He’s intrigued when the boy says he is from Teiko. Apparently, that’s where all the geniuses come from or something, he’s not particularly clear, but _who gives a damn_ when there is one of Teiko’s prodigies right in front of him?

Kagami is disappointed when the boy rejects a game. “Why? You’re supposed to be good, right?”

“I am confident in my skills, Kagami-kun.” Kuroko says as he sips his vanilla milkshake. “But the reason why I was in the first string of Teiko was because of my ability to support other players on the court.” He shrugs. “In an individual game, I cannot hope to ever defeat you without using my abilities.”

He bristles, but he accepts it. “You’re so weird,” he says. “Then we’ll play next time then.”

“Kagami-kun is weirder. I’ve never seen anyone willingly offer to lose to someone before.”

“Oi! Kuroko, you bastard!”

Kuroko raises an eyebrow. There is little to no response from him, while the entire restaurant is staring at Kagami. He sheepishly sits down.

“Well, we’ll have to convince the coach to let us play. I want to know how good you are.”

Kuroko looks upwards, meeting Kagami’s eyes. “Very good,” he says. “Though as I am now, I doubt I could ever match up to the other Generation of Miracles. You will understand once you meet them.”

They win.

Kuroko Tetsuya shows how good he is.

And Kagami remains stunned. 

_There are people better than this guy?_

(Later, when Kagami Taiga finds out that Kuroko Tetsuya is a girl and sees her true abilities for himself, he will be even more amazed at this moment.)

(No wonder the phantom sixth player of Teiko was also known as the “Kingfisher”.)

(The name ends up suiting her even more once they meet with the school of kings.)

* * *

**#4: Light: Orange**

“I will be the shadow to your light and make you the best player in Japan.”

Kagami stares. That’s possibly the most cringeworthy thing he’s ever heard in his life, but Kuroko looks so serious. It makes it even harder not to laugh. Shadows? Light? Helping a light to become stronger?

He knows that Kuroko is strong. That’s been proven today. 

Does he really need to sacrifice himself for a game like that?

Kuroko averts his eyes. “Sorry. I said something weird again.”

“It’s fine,” Kagami says quickly. “Hell, I gave you one of my burgers, you little asshole. You’re my teammate now, you know? Though I’ve never met anyone half as weird as you. Are the other Generation of Miracles this weird as well?” He sees Kuroko hide a small smile. “Why are you smiling?”

“It’s nothing, Kagami-kun.” He shrugs. “You really love basketball, huh?”

“Who wouldn’t?”

Kuroko stops and Kagami turns to look at him. For a moment, Kuroko’s face is frozen into a look of frustration, before it disappears and it’s as blank as ever. Kagami decides that he must have mistaken it. “Right,” he says. “Who wouldn’t love basketball?”

“Only idiots.”

“Then you shouldn’t love it either, Kagami-kun.”

“Wait, what?” He turns around, but Kuroko is not there. 

“Other side, Kagami-kun.” Kuroko continues walking while Kagami gapes at the spot he was at two seconds ago.

“Anyway, light to shadow? Do you love basketball, Kuroko?”

“I love basketball,” Kuroko says decisively. “I find it a shame when people do not.”

It’s the most opinionated he has heard Kuroko be since they met.

“Do you know people who hate basketball?”

Kuroko nods. “The Generation of Miracles,” he says. “They do not love basketball anymore.” He looks away. “I hate that they hate it.”

Kagami coughs, because the situation has gotten far too awkward for his liking. “Well, we’ll defeat them all! Then they’ll like it, right? Cause they have competition?”

“Not everyone’s a basketball idiot like you, Kagami-kun.” He’s about to yell before he sees Kuroko smile. It’s surprisingly soft. “But… thank you.”

* * *

**#5: My Wish: Black**

Kuroko looks at her finished work on the grounds outside the school. It’s painted bright white, and there’s no way that anyone can miss it. Since she can’t go on the rooftop, this will have to do. 

What is her wish?

Well…

As much as she wishes that she could say that her wish is to make Seirin the best, she knows that it isn’t true. No, her true wish is something very similar, yet something so hard to voice.

She wants to see the Generation of Miracles smile while playing basketball. Smile with their true smiles. 

Kise smiles the most nowadays, she thinks. But Kise’s smile is the kind of smile that comes from exasperation, from amusement with futility. Midorima has never smiled much, but she has seen the occasional small smile when he receives a particularly good pass from one of them. He doesn’t smile now. Akashi’s smiles come from hurting others. They are nightmarish, they are a tyrant’s smiles. She can’t look at them. Murasakibara’s smiles are… they have nothing to do with basketball anymore.

Aomine…

But… 

She can’t say that directly. She can’t show her hand so quickly to Seirin. She can’t say that she is not truly playing for them, she is playing _with_ them, for her own goals.

She is playing so that she can save the Generation of Miracles.

That is why she writes what she does on the ground. A sentence containing so many different meanings, so many of her hopes.

_I will defeat the Generation of Miracles._

Her promise, her raison d'être.


	2. Kise Ryota’s Visit (Ficlets #6-10)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kise decides to visit Seirin, just like in canon. It leaves varying results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because we’re still following canon for a while longer :) Also this entire chapter now that I’m reading it over is literally Kise and Kuroko fluff. I blame my friend.

**#6: First Impressions: Orange on Gold**

When Kise Ryota first shows up at Seirin High, Kagami isn’t sure what to think about him. He is a pretty boy, the kind of boy that people giggle about in fashion magazines. Kagami thinks that he can’t be that good at basketball. A face like that can’t be that good.

Kise steps towards Kuroko.

“Sup, Kurokocchi!”

“Kise-kun,” Kuroko says, inclining his head. “I did not expect to see you so soon after graduation.”

Kise messes up Kuroko’s hair with an affectionate smile. “Well, how could any of us possibly stay away from you, Kurokocchi? You’re the best.” There is some idle chatter between the rest of the team and Kise as the blond goes on and on about his friendship with Kuroko in Teiko, eventually ending with: “Kurokocchi was always the best!”

Kuroko gives him a wistful look. “Not the best player.” Kagami thinks with a start that Kuroko looks almost fond of Kise, which is a surprise on its own. He’s never once seen Kuroko’s face soften, never seen any emotion. 

It annoys Kagami slightly that it’s someone like Kise who brings that out in Kuroko.

But it also lights a fire in him. 

One of the Generation of Miracles, huh?

He tosses a basketball at Kise— 

Only for a blue blur to dart forward, smacking the ball aside. It hits the side of the stage with a loud thud, before rolling away. Kuroko has an annoyed look on his face, as he looks back at Kagami, standing in front of Kise. Kise himself looks annoyed as well, and the rest of Seirin looks like they want to facepalm at him.

“What was that for?” Kuroko says.

“You could have seriously hurt Kurokocchi!” says Kise.

Kagami grins. “Never intended to hit him,” he says. “But you’re one of the Generation of Miracles, right? Shouldn’t you have been able to catch that on your own without Kuroko stepping in to help you?”

“Kagami-kun,” Kuroko says. His voice sounds steely. Kise steps forward.

“Well,” he says, untying the tie of his uniform and placing it on the side of the court, “you sound ready to go. And I’m not mature enough to reject such an obvious challenge.” He looks Kagami over. “You’re not much,” he comments, before looking at Kuroko. “Is he your answer to Aominecchi?”

Aominecchi?

Kuroko looks at Kise with a blank stare. “Kagami-kun is not an answer to anything,” he says. “Kagami-kun is Kagami-kun.”

Kagami feels uncomfortably warm. 

Kise snorts. “So you say. Ok then. Let me see how he does.” He looks at the hoop. “You did a decent move just now,” the blond says. “Let’s see how I do.”

Kagami grins and they stand opposite each other.

And in the span of seconds, he is _trashed_ as the blond repeats his move.

When all is done, all he can do is stare, as Kise dribbles the ball on the spot, a cold look emerging in his eyes. 

“What an unsightly display,” he says. “Are you really the one that Kurokocchi dubbed as having the potential to be one of us?”

Kuroko said that?

Shit.

* * *

**#7: Gold Reunion: Black**

Kise turns to her.

Kuroko inclines her head. She knows. She never expected Kagami to beat Kise on his own. Kise is stronger than that. 

The blond blew over Kagami, just like he has done to everyone. Just like all of them do to everyone. 

“Kurokocchi,” he says, his voice unnaturally serious. “I can’t accept this.” 

_It’s not your job to accept it, Kise. You all left me behind. You all grew stronger than me._

_What would Tetsu think of all of you now?_

She says none of that. She merely watches as he turns to the rest of Seirin, as she always does. He speaks up. “What an unsightly display,” he repeats. “I can’t accept this. You all are so weak. You can’t make full use of Kurokocchi’s abilities.” 

Their eyes meet for a split-second and she gets the message.

_That’s why you’re still fooling around with misdirection, Kuroko._

_When are you going to go all out against other people?_

“Give Kurokocchi to us,” he says.

“What?” Aida finally reacts.

“You all are worthless.” Kise steps back towards her, holding out his hand. “Kurokocchi, come with me. Play with me. I can’t go back so easily after seeing how weak your new light is. Let’s play basketball together again.”

Kuroko looks at him, her eyes cold steel.

“I’m serious,” he says in response to her silent question. “I’ve always been serious about you, Kurokocchi. You know that, right?”

She knows.

She knows that Kise Ryota has never treated her lightly, despite his seemingly flighty attitude. That he’s been one of her best friends and that he’s always held her up on a pedestal, striving to protect her and help her out.

At the same time, she has to admit that she did the same to the Generation of Miracles. She put everything that she had into putting them on a pedestal, and said pedestal _cracked_ in the last few months of her association with them.

“I miss you,” he says.

“I miss you too, Kise-kun,” she says. “But… I have to humbly refuse your request.”

He doesn’t burst into words or into dramatic displays like she expects. Instead, he just looks at her. His gold eyes gleam with sorrow. “Why?”

“Because…” she sighs. “Because I made a promise,” she says. “I made a promise that I would save the Generation of Miracles,” she says, her words only audible to the two of them. “I’m at Seirin because I believe that Seirin can help me achieve that goal. I want to save all of you, Kise-kun. If it wasn’t for that, I would never have touched a basketball again.” She lowers her head, the last words barely audible even to Kise. “Not even for Tetsu’s sake.”

That makes Kise react, taking a step towards her. He knows how big of a deal it is that she would do something for them but not do it for Tetsuya.

“Do you know how hard it is to be away from all of you when we were friends for so long?” She says. “I keep listening to Oha Asa in the morning even though I know that there’s no one to buy lucky items for. I keep expecting to see Aomine-kun being chased by Momoi-san as we run down the corridors. I keep expecting to see Akashi-kun in the gym, waiting for me to practice with him. I keep buying snacks and having no one to share them with.” She clenches her fists instinctively before she stops. “I keep seeing you,” Kuroko says. “In every magazine that everyone shares. I keep thinking that it’s you and I wait to tease you about it when you walk through the door only to realise that I can’t see you anymore.”

It’s possibly the most emotion that she’s ever revealed. She sees some people in Seirin staring at them.

“I miss you so much, Kise-kun,” she says. “But I can’t save you if I’m standing beside you. I’ve already tried that once, and I failed. I don’t want to go through that again.”

He steps forward, before he pulls her into a hug. “And yet you’ll make me feel like I’m losing you all over again,” he says softly. “That’s not fair either, Kurokocchi.”

The hug lasts only for a few seconds, but those seconds feel like an eternity.

He steps away. “Well,” he says chirpily, “I guess I can’t change your mind with words, Kurokocchi! So I’ll show it to you in our game then!”

_I’ll show you, so come with me then._

“Bring it,” she says. “Seirin will not lose to you.”

_I will not lose to you._

Kagami and the rest of their team give their own challenges as well, before Kise leaves.

Kuroko closes her eyes, and holds her hand close to her heart.

_Soon, Kise-kun. I promise I will help you soon._

_No matter what I have to do, I will turn Seirin into a team that can save all of you._

That is the reason she is here.

* * *

**#8: Black and Gold: Seirin**

As Kise Ryota backs away from Kuroko, Seirin collectively holds its breath. Especially when Kise walks out with that slightly shrunken posture and Kuroko places his hand to his heart for a moment.

Aida thinks that there is so much left unsaid between the two. That Kise Ryota clearly cares a lot about Kuroko, enough to drop his happy demeanour, enough to fight for him. That Kuroko Tetsuya clearly reciprocates, because of the way that he looked at Kise, as though the latter was the most precious thing he had ever seen, even if both of their actions only lasted a short while.

It’s the least amount of control that she’s ever seen from Kuroko.

At first, no one speaks.

Kuroko averts his eyes, and the spell is broken.

Kagami speaks up. “Oi, Kuroko… who is Kise to you, anyway?”

Kuroko shrugs. “Kise-kun is my friend,” he says, though the weight of the word ‘friend’ seems insufficient. The way that he looked at Kise earlier…

It’s so _heavy_.

“Were you just friends?”

Kuroko shrugs. He does not reply.

Aida thinks that the lack of reply is already an answer in itself.

Kuroko picks up a basketball. “I’m going to practice my passes,” he says.

Training continues.

But no one forgets that look.

* * *

**#9: Quiet Yellow: Kaijo**

When Kise Ryota returns, he looks so unnaturally downcast that Kaijo leaves him alone for a while, and not even Kasamatsu Yukio is willing to drag him over from the corner. It’s just as well, because Kise takes the goalpost near the side of the hall, using the half-court hoop to practice with a ferocity that no one there has ever seen from him.

He looks strangely frustrated, and every dunk of his makes the hoop shake. Kasamatsu half-expects the hoop to break and fall off soon.

“Think that he got rejected by a girl or something?” Moriyama comments as he shoots another three, turning back to grab a ball.

The loud echoes as Kise dribbles the ball through the court and dunks it makes them all shudder. “Do you really think there’s a single girl in the country who would reject Kise Ryota?” One of the non-regulars says. Moriyama huffs and mutters something about some men having all the luck, which Kasamatsu chooses to ignore. 

“He does seem disappointed though, doesn’t he?”

Kise does seem disappointed. That’s not even a point of contention. More than that, he seems frustrated. The only other time he’s seen the model’s perfect smile slip is that day after he ran off early from practice to meet old friends.

_“Ah! Kasamatsu-senpai, sorry! Uh… Kurokocchi ran away from us again. Akashicchi’s pissed, so I’m kind of scared now.”_

He may have said that he was scared then, but his eyes told a different story. Disappointment.

“Hey, place bets on who Kise likes—”

“Moriyama, go run around the school three times,” Kasamatsu says. “Let’s not discuss this.”

(Later, Kasamatsu Yukio will think that it is a shame that he did not end up betting on the result, when he ends up meeting one of Kise’s ex-teammates.)

(Kise seems to adore Kuroko Tetsuya more than anything else.)

* * *

**#10: Reason: Gold and Black**

Only when Kuroko is home and her guard is down does she allow herself to think about the true weight of that question.

Who is Kise Ryota to her?

She supposes that she can’t consider that question alone. After all, to ask what Kise Ryota is to her would mean asking what the Generation of Miracles is to her. And looking at it that way, it becomes easy to answer that question.

The Generation of Miracles is her reason. Her reason to play basketball, her reason to come to Seirin, her reason to train as hard as she can. They are the reason why she is living her life the way that she is now.

They were stolen from her, and she wants to save them.

Kise Ryota is part of that reason.

He is her reason.

She looks at the ceiling.

Kise Ryota… is her opponent, huh?

She looks forward to it.

Perhaps then, she’ll finally push herself in a match.

And become the Kingfisher of Teiko again.

*****

Kise thinks about her even after he gets home. Geez. Kuroko has always been so stubborn.

She’s just like Kuroko Tetsuya.

He taps the side of his bed. Well…

That’s why she ended up becoming the Kingfisher of Teiko. Before she came in, Kuroko Tetsuya was known as the Phantom Player. While she remained the Phantom Player, she also became far more deadly, both in the air and on the ground, zooming between players and specialising in stealing and fast breaks alongside her Misdirection.

That was why everyone ended up calling her the Kingfisher.

She was amazing on the court. 

Kise sighs.

He really wants to play with Kuroko again.

So he supposes that that will be his reason to play and win tomorrow.

Aomine Daiki may have given up the right to be her light, but Kise will not let that title go to Kagami without a fight.

He’s not _mature_ enough for that.


	3. Kaijo vs Seirin (Ficlets #11-15)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaijo and Seirin face off against each other, and a surprising guest shows up. The Kingfisher takes flight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also known as the chapter that took this long because my friend and I were arguing over what should happen when Shutoku goes against Seirin and what Midorima and Fem!Kuroko's relationship should be like (I try to plan this story out a few chapters in advance, though admittedly sometimes they do get pushed back because I decide to add more perspectives (*cough* the entire Kaijo arc and what happens afterwards is twice the size I expected it to be and still going with half of the perspectives being unplanned.)) I do have most of the Shutoku ficlets done up, so I guess it'll be faster once I push my way through this. Enjoy!

**#11: Match Start!: Gold and Kaijo**

The game with Kaijo starts out stupidly, and by the time Kise stops laughing, the hoop that Kagami tore off has already been put elsewhere, and Kasamatsu has kicked him at least twice.

“Oi,” the captain says. “What the hell is that Number 11?”

Kise, who barely stopped laughing, starts again. He grins. “Oh? But didn’t you kick me when I tried to tell you about Kurokocchi earlier? Why the sudden change, Kasamatsu-senpai?”

He receives another kick for his efforts, before as Kasamatsu draws back his hand, another hand grabs it. There is utter silence as everyone stares at the spot where there was definitely no one before. Then, pandemonium breaks out with people letting out screams and Kise falls into wheezing laughter again.

“Please do not hit him, Kasamatsu-san,” Kuroko says.

“Huh?”

“A captain should not have to lay his hand on his teammates in order to control them,” Kuroko says. “That is what my captain said once when he met a captain that hit his own teammates. An inability to control without violence is  _ weakness _ .” She lets go and begins walking back to Seirin.

Kasamatsu sputters. After a few seconds of everyone recovering from shock, he turns back to Kise. “Who is that guy?” He says.

Kise decides to humour him, letting out a mirthful laugh as he does so. “Kasamatsu-senpai, ‘that guy’ that you’re speaking of is the phantom sixth player of the Teiko basketball team. That is the Kingfisher of Teiko.”

Everyone’s mouths fall open in shock and Kise can’t help but shoot Kuroko a wink as he stands up.

“Man, that display got me raring to go! I guess that Kagami can perform decently when Kurokocchi is helping him.” He stretches his arms. “Let’s go then.” He runs onto the court, where Kuroko and Kagami are already standing with their teammates. He rushes forward, grinning at Kuroko. “Thanks!”

“He should not have laid a hand on you while I was here,” Kuroko says in her usual placid tone. “I am unhappy with that.”

He feels a slight chill go down his back. 

Kise grins back at her.

“I’m not going to lose, Kurokocchi.”

“I’m not going to lose either, Kise-kun. May the best win.”

*****

That short boy is the Kingfisher of Teiko? Kasamatsu feels a chill on his spine as the boy talks to Kise on the court. 

They look like equals, despite the blue-haired boy’s short stature.

The phantom sixth player of the Generation of Miracles…

It’s the first time that he’s ever seen Kise so excited to see someone.

He glances back at his team. “Let’s go!”

They will not lose that easily, even if this is one of Kise’s old teammates.

(Kasamatsu doesn’t think that they can lose. Say anything about Kise, but one thing that no one can deny is that he is a level above most of the high school basketball circuit, that he is  _ Kise Ryota _ , part of the most famous group of basketball players in Japan.)

(But, as he later discovers, so is Kuroko Tetsuya.)

* * *

**#12: Kingfisher: Orange and Gold**

The Kingfisher of Teiko is considered to be as much a part of the Generation of Miracles as the rest, even if their name is hard to keep in one’s mind. That’s something that people tend to forget even if they remember Kuroko—that he is as strong as the Generation of Miracles. 

Kise blitzes along the court, heading towards the goal with ease, while Kagami rushes towards him— 

_ He’s too damn fast! _

Then, a hand slashes out, and the ball shoots out of Kise’s hands, flying directly into Kagami’s hands as the redhead comes to a stop in shock. Kise looks shocked, while Kuroko runs off, with a look towards Kagami. With a smirk, Kagami leaps towards the goalpost, dunking the ball into the hoop, earning them another two points.

“Someone stole the ball from Kise?”

“Oi, I didn’t see anyone!”

Kasamatsu, who is near Kagami, looks at him. “You have the Kingfisher on your team,” he says, sounding shocked. 

“Ah, I don’t care for fancy titles. But Kuroko is Kuroko, and he’s my partner, so I’m going to fight alongside him.”

But Kagami has to admit as the game goes on that he is impressed, as Kaijo seems to be unable to keep a hold of the ball, with it springing out of their hands the moment they let down their guard, with said ball flying across half the court at times to reach Seirin members.

And yet despite all of that, their points still stand at 25-23 by the end of the first quarter, with Kaijo in the lead. It is significantly less of a lead than Kaijo expected though, as can be seen from their faces. It’s a testament to their equality, to how balanced out their teams are with these legends going head to head.

Then, it happens.

*****

“What do you mean that you can’t stay in for the whole game?”

“My misdirection is not that strong,” Kise overhears Kuroko explain in her neutral tone. “I cannot hope to keep in for the entire game, and considering that as of now, most of my playstyle relies on misdirection, once it runs out, I will be worth less than a normal player.”

“Ah, why didn’t you say this earlier?” Aida reaches out to pull Kuroko into a hold, and Kise sees red, darting forward and grabbing her arm before she can grab Kuroko.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing to he-him?” He corrects the pronoun at the last second. “Kuroko might not have told you because he probably forgot! Why does that give you the right to assault him?”

“Kise-kun,” Kuroko says. “It’s ok.”

He gives her a fond smile. “Oi, Kuroko. Let me be cool and defend you like you did me, alright?”

Kuroko looks at him. “Ok, Kise- _ kun _ ,” she says, stressing the honorific. He frowns, before realising that he’s calling her Kuroko instead of Kurokocchi. Shit. 

He remembers everyone else agreeing to call her Kuroko to differentiate her from Kuroko Tetsuya, because even then, the girl who looked like Kuroko Tetsuya was just too similar to Kuroko already. At that point, he had still been calling the original Kuroko (and wasn’t that confusing) Kuroko, and as such, he had come up with that nickname for the new Kuroko to differentiate her from him.

But…

“Kurokocchi is one of the Generation of Miracles,” he says. “He has been one longer than he has been part of Seirin, so do me a favour and avoid doing anything like that in front of any of us. We don’t take kindly to others hurting our own.” He lets go and begins walking back to Kaijo.

Kasamatsu gives him a flabbergasted look. Moriyama speaks up.

“I think that’s the most serious I’ve ever seen you, Kise.” There's a questioning tone to those words that Kise chooses not to address.

He sighs.

It’s just that it’s Kuroko.

That’s all there is to it.

* * *

**#13: Accidents: Black and Gold**

When she watches from the side, Kuroko sees Kagami and Kise clash over and over again, with Kise easily defeating Kagami over and over again, scoring. While Seirin is still doing well, with the captain scoring three pointers and Kagami occasionally managing to draw enough attention that everyone else can score, Kagami can’t do anything against Kise.

It’s like watching Aomine against Kise from their middle school days.

Kagami grins at Kise. “Don’t worry,” he says. “The tide of this battle is about to turn soon.”

“Oh?” Kise snorts, still looking every bit as handsome as he is normally despite his exhaustion. “Sorry, but even if it turns, it won’t be because of you. Your light is too dim for Kurokocchi.”

“But he’s not fighting alone,” someone says from behind him, before the ball is knocked out of his hands for the umpteenth time. “What are you, an electrician? Don’t go judging people like that, Kise-kun.”

Kise sighs. “Kurokocchi… this is a really annoying side of you.”

“Sorry, Kise-kun.” She watches as he races down the court towards Kagami, catching up and stealing the ball back. Then, he starts racing towards the other side of the court with a grin on his face, dodging around the captain and Izuki as they try to block him and reaching out—

And hitting solid matter with his elbow.

Kuroko falls down, her head hitting the ground. Kise pales as he looks at her, though he seems to be getting further and further away. The ball drops from his hands as the referee blows his whistle, before he kneels down next to her. His fingers touch her forehead, coming away with blood. They are wide with fear. “Kurokocchi!”

“It’s… alright, Kise-kun…” she says, standing up, wobbling on her feet. “I’m fine. The game is just getting started…” 

She falls.

*****

He hurt Kuroko.

He hurt Kuroko!

How could he? What has he done? Kuroko… 

He catches her as she falls down, before he closes his eyes. He feels two of his instincts warring within him, and eventually, one wins out as the other players and the two coaches approach. 

_ Winning is everything. _

_ But Kurokocchi… I have to help her… _

_ Winning is everything. _

_ This is my fault… _

_ But winning is everything. _

He helps to carry her to the side, before with another look back to her, he walks back to his team.

“Looks like Seirin is doomed without that Number 11,” Moriyama says. “After all, without her—” 

Kise punches the wall.

The others stare at him in stunned silence.

“Let’s get back to the game,” he says tightly.

_ Winning is everything. _

Shit. Why is he like this?

* * *

**#14: Sidelines: Green**

When Midorima Shintaro runs into the gymnasium and takes a seat (while Takao is still at that traffic junction cursing his name) he sees Kuroko being carried by Kise to the side, blood on her head. 

So much for watching the copycat and the invisible player go against each other. He looks at Kuroko as Kise returns to the field.

It’s not like he’s worried about Kuroko or anything, and he’s certainly not annoyed at whoever hurt her. But the wound does look really bad. Kise looks… odd, as though he’s torn between two extremes. Midorima doesn’t really get it. What happened?

Then, he hears the whispers.

Kise hit Kuroko.

What.

The first thing that Midorima thinks is that if any of the other Generation of Miracles hear about this, Kise will not live through the night.

And fine, he may be a bit concerned about Kuroko, but that’s just because they were once teammates and because Kuroko is a girl, and no self-respecting guy should ever hit a girl. It’s not like he came here with Kuroko’s lucky item just because Aquariuses are last place today, though he did end up bringing it. He came here to scout out the competition. (He ignores the fact that he has not gone to scout out any other competition except Kuroko and Kise.)

Either way…

He is not happy with the fact that Kise has hit Kuroko.

At least Kise doesn’t look happy with himself either, even as he scores dunk after dunk on Seirin.

He walks out of the stands, towards Kuroko on the sidelines. Seirin’s coach and the people on the bench give him strange looks, but he gets on one knee next to Kuroko, with her opening her eyes and looking at him.

He places the stuffed rabbit next to her. “Aquarius’s lucky item,” he says, before he carries on. “I… apologise for not getting here earlier. I could have prevented this if I had counteracted your bad luck.”

“Thank you, Midorima-kun.”

“I just happened to be in the area,” he says, ignoring the fact that Kaijo is nowhere near Shutoku. “Do not lose to Kise, Kuroko.”

“I will not,” she says, eyes determined as she sits up. “The Kingfisher doesn’t lose this easily.”

“Except Akashi.”

Kuroko gives him a slightly cynical look. “Akashi-kun is not the absolute,” she says. The rest of the team seems to have forgotten them, focused on the match. “No one is the absolute in basketball, Midorima-kun. Not even us.”

He sighs. “Still thinking that way?”

“I cannot afford to not think that way.”

The coach’s whisper breaks their conversation’s flow. “If only Kuroko…”

Midorima meets her light blue eyes. “You cannot possibly expect to go back out there,” he says, though he already knows her answer. Kuroko has always been this stubborn. Even in the Meiko game…

The Meiko game is not something he likes to think about. It still burns at his conscience.

“I will go,” Kuroko says, loudly enough that everyone hears. “For Seirin. For Kise.”

He sighs. “Always doing things like this,” he says. “What do you expect to happen, Kuroko? A miracle? What if Kise hurts you again?”

“Kise-kun would never hurt me on purpose,” she says. “None of you would.” She smiles at him for a brief second. “But thank you for your concern, Midorima-kun. I could not ask for more.”

He scoffs. 

She walks out there.

“If she gets injured…” he mutters.

“Who are you?” Their coach says as she looks at them.

He gives her a look filled with disdain. “Someone who is wondering why you all depend on Kuroko so much,” he says. “Weaklings.”

He’ll never understand Kuroko Tetsuya and why she cares for people like this.

Why she trusts people so much.

* * *

**#15: Pushing Back: Orange**

Kuroko comes back onto the court.

Kagami walks over to him. He knows that Kuroko won’t want pity. As such, he does not give it. Instead, he messes up the shorter boy’s hair with one hand and grins at him.

“About time you came back in!”

Kuroko gives him a nod, as stoic and determined as ever. “Let’s go, Kagami-kun,” he says. “Kaijo won’t wait forever.”

“Don’t get cocky just because you stole a few balls, Kuroko!” He doesn’t get why the second-years let out snickers, but Kuroko is as expressionless as ever.

They rejoin the game.

Immediately, the change in the flow of the game is obvious. It doesn’t change in speed—both sides are still adopting a run-and-gun style of play, and neither team is able to defend against either of the aces. Kasamatsu is an excellent point guard and his team, with his help, makes shot after shot, keeping the gap constant. But Seirin doesn’t let up either. Kuroko’s introduction adds a new layer to their play, unpredictable shots from strange angles and an inability to guard what you cannot see. Kagami himself finds himself scoring more easily, with the ball seeming to come to him the moment he’s ready.

He can see why Kuroko is the passing specialist of the Generation of Miracles.

Neither side can truly defend, and both sides are far too powerful.

Ironically, it is not either of the Generation of Miracles that breaks the stasis that they are in.

It’s the captains. Kasamatsu Yukio and Hyuga Junpei are both very determined, and not willing to be completely overshadowed by their juniors. 

(Kagami gets hit on the head with a basketball when he suggests that Hyuga should just pass to him instead of trying to dodge Kise. He is about to fight, but Kuroko gives him a deadpan stare and he relents.)

Hyuga hits in a shot and finally, their score becomes 77-80 in Kaijo’s favour as the quarter comes to a close. 

Kise looks over at the two of them. “I didn’t expect you all to catch up so much.”

Kagami grins. “Heh, you probably underestimated us,” he says, jerking a finger upwards. “We’re going to take you down, Kise!”

Kuroko inclines his head. “What he said,” the blue-haired boy says. “Seirin will not lose.”

“You won’t win, Kurokocchi.” Kise says it with the same confidence as someone declaring that the sky is blue. “I will.”

“You wish,” Kagami says with a snort. “Don’t look down on us.”

Kise looks at him. He looks like he’s looking at him clearly for the first time. Then, he laughs. “I think I’m beginning to understand a bit about why Kurokocchi chose you, Kagami. But you’re going to have to beat that into my head, or I won’t accept you!”

“Bring it, Kise!”

Kuroko hits Kagami on the head, before giving Kise a deadpan stare. The two of them look way too comfortable around each other, and Kagami gets hit with that feeling that he is seeing something incredibly emotional but that he has no clue what it is.

“Enough posturing,” he says. “Play before you talk.”

“But Kurokocchi…” 

Well, doesn’t matter if they’re part of the Generation of Miracles.

Kagami’s going to win against them and become the best player in Japan.

They play.

The clock ticks down.

As the clock shows four seconds, Kuroko tosses the ball to him. And Kagami jumps, his legs springing into the air  _ and he flies _ .

His hand slaps the ball down into the hoop, past a shocked Kise.

Seirin all let out cheers, though they’re muted. Made sense. The sophomores may have fought but some part of them probably kept being realistic and thinking that there was no way that they could pull off a victory here.

Kagami doesn’t have that part. What is realism, anyway?

He knew that they would win.

There was no other outcome. He and Kuroko will win and win and they’ll run forward until they’re the best that the world has ever seen.

They won’t lose.

(Later, when he meets Aomine Daiki, his spirit never wanes.)

(They may lose, but they are not defeated until they lose hope.)


	4. Aftermath 1 (Ficlets #16-20)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seirin wins. This victory causes several different reactions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After yet more added POVs, this has swelled up way beyond what I expected. Ok, this is fine. Enjoy some reactions and the aftermath of Kaijo vs Seirin, I suppose. The butterfly effect is supposed to really show up after Shutoku, but my writer's block is proving difficult to push through now, so... I'll do my best, I suppose XD

**#16: Fortune Favours The Bold: Gold**

Kise is still washing his face outside by the time that Midorima shows up, arms folded and with that same disgruntled look on his face that he always has.

“Going to yell at me, Midorimacchi?”

“You already lost,” Midorima says. “I suspect that’s enough punishment for you.” Kise snorts.

As if it is.

Sure, it feels like complete _crap_ , but it’s nothing compared to that moment of terror when he saw Kuroko bleeding on the ground.

“Kurokocchi is strong.”

Midorima pushes up his glasses. “Of course she is.”

They both have the same feelings, so difficult to put into words. Of course Kuroko is strong. She bathed in the same light as them in Teiko, burned in the flame that was their desire to win. They were all forged into different warriors, but the flames were the same.

“She can handle herself, you know,” Kise says. “No need to worry about it, Midorimacchi.”

“Of course Kuroko can handle herself against you,” Midorima says. Kise absentmindedly turns off the tap. “I am simply surprised.”

“I know, right?” He smiles wistfully. His loss still burns at him, his tears still feel like they’re sticking to his face even though he’s scrubbed at it several times. But somehow, there’s this strange joy that is rising up in him. “It’s been so long since I saw the Kingfisher fly. Think that she’ll dethrone the school of kings, Midorimacchi?”

“That is unlikely.” 

_Who are you to say that, huh? Have you forgotten how many times Kuroko stole the ball from your hands? Maybe I should send you Momoicchi’s collection of your stunned faces as a reminder—_

“Kuroko’s power on the court is severely limited by her refusal to shoot,” Midorima says. “Because of that, we all have better scoring potential than her.”

“And what happens if you push her too far, Midorimacchi?” The blond folds his arms. “Don’t forget about what happened in her last days on our basketball team.”

Midorima turns away. “Still though, I never miss my shots. I’m afraid you’ll have to say goodbye to that rematch you were hoping for. I will not lose to Kuroko.”

“Eh? But Midorimacchi, what if you lose?”

“I won’t.”

“Oh?” Kise grins, his spirits reignited by the fact that Midorima is going to fall so flat on his face, and he’s going to be able to watch it. “If you’re so confident, make a bet with me about it.”

Midorima raises an eyebrow.

“I bet that Shutoku will be defeated by Seirin.”

“You think that just because she is the Kingfisher, she can defeat kings?”

Kise merely smiles.

“I suppose I shall entertain you then. What are we betting?”

_Got you._

(It never once occurs to him that Kuroko could lose.)

(To him, the Kingfisher can never be struck down.)

* * *

**#17: Reflections: Blue**

“Hey, hey, Dai-chan! I heard something about Kuroko and Ki-chan!” The loud and bright voice carries through Touou Academy’s dusty hall. Aomine closes his eyes in exasperation (and though he won’t admit it, a little fondness.)

“I was taking a nap, Satsuki.”

“Well, you can stop now!” She is bright and cheery, and Aomine can’t exactly say no to that, so he sits up on the stage, hand pressed against the ground as he turns to Momoi. 

Though he is loath to admit it, he supposes that there is a reason why Touou calls Momoi his keeper. It’s not like there’s anyone else in this entire damn school that he can respect.

(People he can respect are far, far away, like colourful stars in a painted night sky.)

(Ah.)

(Like lights that shine brightly in front of a shadow.)

(Her shadow.)

“Yeah? What did Kise do now? And Kuroko?”

“Their schools had a practice match!”

He snorts. “Figures. Kise can’t keep to himself for long. So, how badly did Kise lose?”

“What?”

“Well, I’m certainly not expecting Kuroko to lose.”

Momoi grins. “That’s right! Kuroko’s team won by a slim margin, though it would have probably been wider if they didn’t have to take Kuroko out for a while. She got injured.”

Aomine’s eyes widen.

Momoi shrugs. “That’s all, really. Dai-chan, aren’t you going to go and talk to them someday? I worry about her.”

Of course she does. It’s not like Aomine doesn’t worry about Kuroko Tetsuya either, worry about the fact that she spends so much languishing with people that cannot possibly understand her, people who don’t see her as the person she is, people who don’t know her largest secret of all.

Worry about the fact that she has weakened herself on purpose, because she is still aiming for the top, even though she’s not going to make it there.

Aomine won’t let her make it there.

“How’s Kise doing?”

“Welllll…” Momoi holds the sound for a while, before she carries on. “Ki-chan apparently got very upset, but he vowed to win next time, so…”

“Heh. Sounds like him.”

He sighs.

He’s not sure why he feels just that bit more alive. Even if Kuroko beats Kise, or Kise beats Kuroko, or Akashi comes down and stabs all of them with scissors, the result is still the same.

The only one who can defeat him is him.

(Isn’t that why basketball bores him now?)

(Not even the Kingfisher. No one is a match for him.)

~~(He’s lonely.)~~

* * *

**#18: Losing: Kaijo**

After they lose and Seirin leaves, Kasamatsu sees Kise flee through the back door. Moriyama wants to follow, but Kasamatsu stops him. If there’s one thing that he knows from the times he’s seen Kise play, it is that Kise has never once thought that he could lose. 

Being honest, that is something about Kise that has always bothered him. Kise just has this air of invincibility to him. As though he knows no defeat.

(The entire Generation of Miracles does.)

Kasamatsu remembers being a second-year and going up against Teiko for the first time, seeing this team of boys with hair that is a spectrum of colours, all smiling and elbowing each other, looking like any other team in the world. Looking like Kasamatsu’s own team. Then, watching with awe as the captain of Teiko sent the other four around. Nijimura Shuuzou. One of the best captains at the time. The only non-first year in the entirety of Teiko’s team. Watching their shooting guard sink point after point with unbelievable accuracy from the half-court line. Watching their power forward— _Aomine Daiki_ , their ace—dominate the entire court the moment that he stepped on it. Watching their center effortlessly block off all attempts to shoot. And watching their magic passes through the court—magic passes that seem to have come to Seirin, now.

It’s not like Teiko always seemed completely invincible. That only came later, when the basketball circuit learned to be afraid of them, when that team stopped smiling during their games.

But Kasamatsu realises that he’s fallen into _complacency_. The same complacency that he used to scold his teammates about when they first revealed that they scouted Kise. 

He forgot that even with Kise, they can lose.

He grits his teeth.

He’s forgotten how bitter losing can taste.

It’s a waking call. 

“Alright,” he calls to the rest. “We’ll be training more. Good job today, guys. Go get a drink.”

“What about Kise?” 

“I’ll go get him,” he said. 

He walks outside and sees Kise talking to the green-haired boy that was at Seirin’s bench earlier, tending to Kuroko Tetsuya. 

He hears Kise call that person _Midorimacchi_ and he raises an eyebrow. The conversation is mostly inaudible to him from this distance, and it seems like he’s missed most of it, but that one name occupies his mind for a moment.

Midorima Shintaro. 

So one of the Generation of Miracles came to scout them out? And was it to scout them out… or to scout _Seirin_ out?

They talk for a while, before they separate, Kise walking back towards the gym. He pauses as he sees Kasamatsu. “Ah, senpai! Did you overhear that conversation?”

Kasamatsu is frozen to the spot, but he recovers. “No,” he says. “That was Midorima Shintaro though, right?”

“Midorimacchi,” Kise says, confirming his thoughts. “But you didn’t hear anything else?”

“Should I have? It was a private conversation, right?”

Kise laughs in that light and silly way of his, but now that he’s looking for it, Kasamatsu sees the strained frustration hidden in his features. “No, senpai, I was just… anyway, why’d you come out here then?”

“Checking to see if you were crying in a corner or something. I’m going back in now.”

“Huh? Oi, Kasamatsu- _senpai_!” He draws out the honorific for far longer than necessary, but that’s just Kise. It’s also just annoying. He’s about to kick Kise, but the words of the blue-haired boy from earlier come back to haunt him.

_“A captain should not have to lay his hand on his teammates in order to control them. That is what my captain said once when he met a captain that hit his own teammates. An inability to control without violence is weakness.”_

“Senpai?” Kise is frowning at him now. “Is everything alright? It’s ok that we lost, you know.”

He snaps back to attention. “Yeah, yeah. I know.” _Do you?_ The question doesn’t fall from his lips, but it is one that he desperately wants to ask Kise Ryota. _Can you accept the taste of defeat? Can you still keep being our ace?_

“Anyway, senpai, practice is over already, right? I overheard Seirin saying that they were going to go eat somewhere, so I’m going to go find Kurokocchi!”

Kasamatsu is about to reject it, but then he thinks about how exhausted everyone is after playing. If Kise is willing to still go running off to look for someone…

“Don’t tire yourself out,” he says. “We have extra practice tomorrow.” Well, no, they don’t. But he certainly has time to get the coach to arrange extra practice. (And they clearly need it.)

“Yes!” Kise grins. “I’ll be there. Thanks, senpai!”

(He’s growing soft, but that’s alright, isn’t it?)

* * *

**#19: Victory: Black**

Kuroko is worried, at first, on how she will feel when they win. She has never doubted that there is a chance that they can win, only if they can grasp that chance. So she’s spent a while not just thinking about helping Kise, but more importantly wondering about…

Victory.

She’d be lying if she said that she wasn’t sick of the taste of victory by the time she entered her third year at Teiko. That is an awful thing to think. She thinks that she might be despised if she ever voices that aloud, because of the sheer fear of loss that Teiko imbued in their opponents, the lack of desire to win. How could someone who feared victory ever have been part of a team like Teiko?

Kuroko fears victory. She fears it.

And yet at the same time, paradoxically, she fears loss. That, too, was born in her through Teiko’s insistent doctrine, seared into her very soul. 

_If I lose, I am lacking._

_If I lose, I am wrong._

_If I lose, I am not worthy._

Is it any wonder, she thinks, that the Generation of Miracles succumbed to what they became so easily? To be caught between two fears…

The taste of victory is like a drug. She recalls that much. Her first victory after she joined the team felt like paradise. And yet after a while, she grew desperate for more, to keep on winning, to keep on feeling that high. And at the same time, she lost that joy that she felt simply from playing. 

Kuroko had been worried that if she won against Kise, she would end up trapped in that cycle again.

And for a moment, standing there, she is. She feels the high, she feels that feeling of being lifted above the masses, to the sky, to soar.

Then Kagami grins and claps her on the back and she is dragged back down to earth, down to something stable and supportive and warm. “Nice, Kuroko!”

The rest of Seirin crowds around her and Kagami, cheering as well, and she suddenly realises it.

_Ah._

_This is what I have been missing._

It feels so _warm_.

She doesn’t think she will drown again while here.

Because Seirin may have won this with her, but they also reminded her of why she has to win. And that is enough to her. Winning is not what gave her joy. She can’t just fixate on winning.

It was like this back then too.

Winning together. Fighting together. Achieving something together.

“Oi, Kuroko. You’re staring off into space—are you crying?”

Kuroko grins, and she sees everyone’s eyes widen at that. She knows that she is not the most expressive person in the world. But she’s so happy right now. She’s so happy that she could cry—that she is crying.

_I forgot how it felt when I was with you all back then._

_Now I remember._

_Please wait for me. I won’t drown again this time, I won’t drown with all of you._

Because Kuroko Tetsuya is a member of the Generation of Miracles. She is made of the same skill, the same focus, the same fears, the same fixations. And she fell to the same things that they did. She was lost too.

And standing here…

And standing here, she was just saved by her new team, by Seirin. The team that gave her hope in the first place.

(She needed saving too, for all that she’s been running ahead.)

“Kuroko? Oi, are you in pain or something? Is your injury acting up? Kuroko!”

“No,” she says, wiping the tears away. “Just… overwhelmed. It’s nothing much.”

She sees sympathy. 

Hyuuga ruffles her hair. “Oi, cry if you want.” He raises his head in the air. “Come on! Let’s all cry manly tears together!” He then proceeds to do the truly remarkable feat of forcing tears out of his eyes with a loud, exaggerated sound, and the rest follow. Even Kagami. Kuroko has never been more embarrassed and amused in her life. Aida herself seems to be caught between the same feelings, and their eyes meet in commiseration for a second. She’s pretty sure that they’re thinking the same thing too, even if Aida would never be able to guess that.

_Boys._

She closes her eyes.

_Thank you, Seirin._

Victory doesn’t taste so bitter anymore.

* * *

**#20: Uncertainty: Seirin**

The truth is, even as he celebrates their victory with the others, Kagami finds himself feeling slightly frustrated.

They were helpless out there without Kuroko. He knows that. He’s happy that they won. But he does feel bad for relying on Kuroko. Furthermore, he has sharp ears. He heard what that green-haired guy said to their coach.

Do they rely too much on Kuroko?

“Kagami-kun, you seem worried.” He looks at Kuroko, who is walking next to him. Apparently. Kagami doesn’t even have the strength to jump up and shout anymore. “Is everything alright?”

“Uh, yeah.” After a brief moment of silence that is spent yelling at himself internally about just how obvious of a lie that was, he shakes his head. “Kuroko, do you think we rely too much on you? Like, we were helpless out there for a while, and… I guess that green-haired guy had a bit of a point. Does it annoy you?”

Kuroko shakes his head. “Midorima-kun means well for me, but he is quite cynical about… Seirin, in general. All of them are. I do not agree with him.”

“Still though, the way he talked… it sounded like he was looking down on Seirin. Like we drag you down.” Who is Midorima, anyway… stupid green-haired broccoli guy… 

“Nonsense.” The word sounds almost cutting, which is ridiculous, considering that it’s coming from Kuroko. He looks at Kuroko, who is looking straight ahead. “Who decided that? I certainly don’t think that way. You all don’t drag me down. There isn’t a single person on this team who is useless, who… a team is not made of a single person. It is not made of aces. A team does not compete within itself to be better than each other. A team competes to be better for each other. If you all rely on me, that’s fine with me, because I am in Seirin to be relied on, to help you all become stronger too. To me, that’s what it means to be a team.”

Kagami realises that everyone around them has gone silent. He sees everyone in the team looking back at Kuroko, spies their uncertainty and realises that he hasn’t been the only person that has been feeling this way. 

“I told Midorima-kun that too, a long time ago,” he adds. “But he didn’t listen to me. None of them did. They never listen to what I say when I need them to.” Kuroko shrugs. “I guess that’s what it means to be on a team of aces, your egos are all too big to listen to each other. But I guess… I wanted you all to know. Kagami-kun, no one could ever be a burden to me. I know how it feels to feel like you’re stuck in someone’s shadow, but…” He smiles. “I am the shadow. So there’s never a need to feel like you’re overshadowed, because like I told you, I will be the shadow to your light and make you the best player in Japan.” 

Now that Kagami thinks about it… Kuroko looks uncertain too.

They all are, huh?

Aida claps her hands together. “Alright! And with that inspiring speech from our quiet Kuroko, let’s go get something to eat!”

Ten seconds later, they come to the realisation that they all have no money.

Kuroko sighs. “I know a place,” he says. “The owner knows me, at least. You all can pay me tomorrow and I’ll pay her when I come by again.” 

Kagami grins.

Kuroko is as reliable as ever, even when it comes to food.

He’ll never admit it aloud, but the smaller boy really has become his partner.


	5. Aftermath 2 (Ficlets #21-25)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seirin visits a restaurant together. Kuroko steps out for a conversation with Kise that gradually grows less awkward. Reflections on the match and the past occur before they part ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is slightly more angsty fluff than usual. This Kuroko is unfortunately quite withdrawn, so a lot of the conversation topics between her and Kise keep getting abruptly cut off. You've been warned. That being said, this chapter is just fluff and the last part of the Kaijo aftermath, before we go into a bit of a training arc with Seirin, and then the Inter High! So I guess look forward to that? :)

**#21: Warmth: Black**

It says a lot, Kuroko thinks, that she doesn’t feel that hurt walking to this place. After all, she was never hurt by this person. This person always trusted her to do her best. As such, she doesn’t feel so much lost as she feels… nostalgic. For the good times, for the bad times, the arguments and the constant headpats.

Murasakibara Sayaka looks at her, the purple-haired woman giving them a once-over. “Well,” she says briskly, “any of you boys know how to cook? Come on in and help me out. Kuroko, why don’t you find a seat for the others?”

“Why not ask Kuroko to help you cook?” Kagami says, seeming befuddled.

Murasakibara-san looks at her, slight amusement in her eyes. Kuroko was never able to fool her. The first time they stepped in here, she looked at the boys and demanded to know where her brother had gone and why they were kidnapping the sister instead. She likes Murasakibara-san. She is far more authoritative and responsible than her son. However, she still takes things in stride, not forcing anyone to adhere to a certain way. Kuroko smiles.

Her eyes are so knowing.

_ Not telling them? _

_ I suppose I will play along… _

“Kuroko is a disaster in the kitchen,” she says. “One time he set it all on fire.”

“Murasakibara-san,” she says quietly. She sees her teammates reel slightly—all except Kagami, because he’s Kagami. “Please do not slander me like this.”

“It was, it was only half, what a big difference.” Murasakibara-san ushers Kagami and Aida to the kitchen, while the rest of them move to sit down in the restaurant.

“This place is run by Murasakibara Atsushi’s mother?” Hyuga says once they sit down on the seats, everyone uncomfortably shifting.

Kuroko nods. “We used to come here all the time,” she says quietly. 

The temperature in the room seems to drop at the mention of the Generation of Miracles, and Kuroko closes her eyes for a moment, letting herself inhale and exhale, taking in the atmosphere of the room now and the atmosphere back then. Aomine leaning on the cushions, lying and facing upwards and yawning, magazine in hand. Midorima yelling at Murasakibara to properly take off his shoes like he should, Murasakibara complaining that he should be allowed to do what he wants in his own home but doing it anyway. Kise and Momoi sitting together and scanning their phones, Akashi smiling at all of them.

Warm. 

It was all so warm back then.

Why is she getting so fuzzy now, huh?

She looks at the room now.

This is her team, the team that she trusts.

This is the team that helped her to wake Kise up, wake up the person that she had wanted to save so much. Not the person that she  _ had _ to save the most, because saving Aomine was what was so much more important now, but the person that she  _ wanted _ to save the most.

Kise Ryota is just that to her.

She passes a menu over to Hyuga quietly.

She’s never been good at expression. Maybe she could be, but she doesn’t particularly want to be. Being good at expressing herself means being good at exposing what she is thinking, and she doesn’t want that. She has never wanted to be good at that.

If she could lock herself up and store everything vulnerable away, behind lock and key?

She thinks that would be for the best.

She does not want conflict.

But she will always do what she thinks is best for those that she loves.

She sees Kise peeking through the curtains at the front, and she sighs. “Kagami-kun can have my steak. But be careful, Murasakibara-san does not like people who waste food.” She stands up quietly, and she steps out of the restaurant, looking outside, where Kise is standing, a slight frown on his face. His bag is slung over his shoulder, and he’s looking forward. Despite his frown, he seems oddly nostalgic as well.

She supposes that he would be.

* * *

**#22: Awkward Conversation: Black**

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” she says.

There is a moment of sheer, stifling awkwardness. They both look at the sign, faded and old.

“It’s been a while,” he says.

“It’s been half an hour, Kise-kun.”

“Right, right.” He shakes his head. There’s a slight edge to it. Kuroko is used to it—Kise is flighty and sharp at the same time. Most people underestimate him and only see the flighty part, but that’s… not really right. It’s like looking at a cube and seeing only one side of it. “Midorimacchi came and talked to me.” He winks. “He seems to think that he can win against you.”

“He may not be wrong,” Kuroko says.

“No, he is.” Kise lifts his index finger, pointing to her. It’s a bit of a rude gesture, but she knows that he doesn’t mean anything by it, and that he’s just tired. “Everyone is, you know. They’ve forgotten how skilled you are.”

“You overestimate me.”

“I underestimated you,” Kise corrects. “And I lost. That’s the thing, I lost. And you know… I’ve never really won against you either. Akashicchi had you train me, and you did, but at the same time? He brought me onto the team before I could really win against you.”

“Everyone can win against me—”

“I get it, I get it.” Kise gives her a sharp smile. It’s the kind of smile that he gives when he’s modelling, and biting back several choice words. “Everyone can win against you, Kuroko, but no one can win against your team. That’s the differentiation you want to make, right? I get it.”

There is a moment of silence between them. Kise peers at her.

“Oi, Kuroko—”

“Kise- _ kun _ ,” she says. “Did you come here just to mock me?”

He jerks back, as though struck. “K-kurokocchi—”

“Because if you did,” she says, “I’d like you to leave now. This is a moment for celebration between me and  _ my team _ .  _ Seirin _ ,” she stresses the word, in case he doesn’t get the implications of that. “It’s our moment, of our victory.”

He finally winces. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to do that at all. I guess I’m just…”

“Upset,” she completes. “I get it, but please don’t take it out on me.”

She knows that the Generation of Miracles is terrible at losing, so she’s not angry. Just mildly disappointed.

“I know that my previous team… I know that us winning in the past was something that would never change,” she says. “I know that. My team now isn’t like us. Please don’t say that.”

He nods. “I actually wanted to have a bit of a walk with you,” he says. “But I’d understand if you don’t want that now.”

Kuroko takes a deep breath, and looks at the faded lights. She pulls her jacket tighter, and she tugs at her light-coloured hair. The street is darkening already. She could go back in and eat. She could go back in and—

But at the same time, there will be other days. Other victories.

And oddly, she does want to hold on to this precious moment when they’re both free. When she can see shades of the Kise that she first met, of the Kise that Kuroko Tetsuya first started teaching years ago. She wants to hold onto… onto that image of him, those shades, to remind herself why she keeps going.

She’s been spending her entire life holding onto things that she probably should have let go of early on. It’s her greatest character flaw. Sometimes, things just aren’t meant to be. Sometimes, things shouldn’t be held on. Sometimes, your teammates traumatise your childhood friend and you find yourself in the unenviable position of helping them anyway.

Things like that.

“I’d understand why you’d want that,” she says. “Let’s walk.”

He smiles. It is as charming as always.

She walks with him, hoping that Kagami eats up that steak properly. If Murasakibara-san knows that she wasted food, she’ll never let her off.

Hmm…

He should be fine. She’s seen him eat burgers.

* * *

**#23: Childhood Recollections: Orange on Black**

Kagami grins, eating up the burger with a large grin. He doesn’t know why Kuroko suddenly rushed out, but that’s fine. More food for him. (Then again, he hopes that Kuroko will eat more later, because a diet of just milkshakes is not sustainable in the slightest.) Around him, the seniors are buzzing, though they fall silent when the purple-haired woman from earlier steps over. “Eat up well,” she says, as she places more plates on the table.

Aida raises a hand. “Uh, we didn’t buy some of this…” She trails off as the woman grins at them.

“It’s important for growing kids to eat a lot, especially if they’re sports players!” She says, folding her arms. She sounds… really, really motherly. Her kid must have been smothered with care while growing up. “The extra stuff’s on the house. I wouldn’t begrudge Kuroko’s team anything.”

“That’s nice of you.”

The moment she leaves, Kagami yawns. “Why are all of you so stiff around that lady? She seems to have a good attitude about things.”

Hyuga gives him a disbelieving look. Meanwhile, the other senpai look like they’re struggling not to laugh.

“That’s Murasakibara Atsushi’s mother,” Izuki says.

Kagami blinks. “Ok. So?”

“What do you mean ‘so?’”

“Well, I don’t know who Murasakibara Atsushi is,” he says, feeling that it’s completely reasonable not to know. He takes a moment to think about it. Hmm… Kuroko knows this person’s mother, huh?

Wait a minute—

“Is he one of the Generation of Miracles?” He blurts out, fish slipping from his fork. There are a few sounds of dismay as Furihata rescues the floor before the fish drops on it, placing the fallen fish in a tissue to be thrown away, before he desperately wipes his hands clean so that he can avoid staining anything. (The sauce is pretty dark, so Kagami gets that. He mutters a quiet apology to Furihata, but the other boy waves him off with a smile.)

“No shit,” Hyuga says, and Kagami feels like he has been enlightened, as though several light bulbs have lit up his thoughts at once. He  _ understands _ .

“Murasakibara-san!” He shouts, only realising seconds later that he should probably be polite. “Tell your son that I want to play basketball with him some time! He can pick the time and place!”

“ _ Bakagami _ !” Coach drags him back down and puts him in a tight hold. “You can’t just—”

“Ok,” the restaurant owner says, actually grinning at him. “I’ll tell him. But you better bring Kuroko-chan along too, s—he’s good at defusing all those boys’ explosions.”

“You don’t mind?” Hyuga says, looking as confused as the rest of the table.

“Maybe getting challenged by someone that Kuroko likes will get him to actually train properly,” she says. “Oh, but you’ll probably have to get defeated really badly first, ok? Atsushi will probably get mad at you first for stealing Kuroko.”

She sounds cheerful, and brutally honest. Kagami grins. He likes her. He can see why Kuroko does too—this literal basketball mum is hard to dislike. “Tell him to bring it then!”

The rest of the team seems to have given up on reining him in. In fact, they look just as curious as him. “Do he and Kuroko get along well?”

Murasakibara-san seems happy to talk about her son, even as she busies around them, cleaning up the table of a few patrons that just left. “Oh, they get along wonderfully, as long as you don’t make them talk about basketball. Atsushi even shares his snacks with he—Kuroko!” She seems to have cut off herself there, but Kagami isn’t able to guess what it was before she carries on talking. “I think he views Kuroko as a bit of a misguided little sibling.”

Listening to this woman talk so fondly about two members of the Generation of Miracles, in comparison to how everyone else describes them is… weird. Kagami can admit that himself.

“Oh, and when they all came over together, it was nice to see it!” She fishes out a photograph, showing it to them.

It’s a photo of a tired-looking Kuroko, holding onto a ribbon and tying it in a tall purple-haired boy’s hair, turning it into a quick but messy bun. He has a slight smile on his face, different from his usual emotionless face. The purple-haired boy is bearing the hairtie with as much dignity as possible, while a boy that is clearly a younger Kise laughs from the side with a tan boy with dark blue hair.

They don’t look exactly like basketball legends here…

They just look like quiet, human kids. (Well, maybe not so quiet in Kise's case.)

“They were cute, weren’t they?” Murasakibara-san says, seemingly oblivious to the strange silence that has fallen over Seirin’s team. “Anyway, I’ll see if I can pack up some food for Kuroko! He tends to skip meals all the time because he gets distracted.” She walks away, and Kagami pokes at his fish.

_ Kuroko looked really happy with them in that photo. _

_ I wonder what happened. _

“Let’s not ask him about their photo,” Coach Aida says. “Yeah?”

Yeah.

He doesn’t want to pressure Kuroko about this kind of stuff, not now.

“Anyway,” Izuki says, “where’d Kuroko go? He did disappear like a shadow.” He lets out a laugh at the joke, before glancing around.

Kagami looks at his food, before he stands up. “I’ll go look for it. You guys can finish the food!”

Despite the cries for help from his stuffed teammates, he walks out.

Eh. They’ll be fine.

* * *

**#24: Quiet Confessions: Gold**

They’ve been walking for a while already, with Kise wondering about how to approach any topic, or how to start a conversation with her that doesn’t walk into bad topics. While he’s deciding how to be considerate to her while talking, she decides to invalidate all that thought by diving right into the most sensitive topic.

“I’m visiting Tetsu next week,” she says. “Would you like to come along?”

He clears his throat. “Sounds good,” he says. “I’ll free up my time, just text me the date.” He cringes, realising how she hasn’t answered any of his messages since she left the basketball team. “Do you still have my number?”

“I changed my phone,” she says, much to his relief. “I never got around to giving the rest of you my number, though Momoi-san already has it.” Kise snorts. Yeah, Momoi gets to know everything that they do within a few seconds of them actually doing it. Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but if Momoi hasn’t already figured out something, she will end up doing so. That’s one of the laws of the universe. He takes out his phone and they exchange their numbers, before they lapse into silence now, though it is a bit more comfortable.

They stop at a bench near a court, and he sighs as they both sit down. “Hey, Kurokocchi,” he says.

“Yes, Kise-kun?” She responds promptly. He’s about to grin at her, but he doesn’t. Instead, he asks her that question again.

“Why did you quit basketball, back then?”

“Don’t you already know, Kise-kun?”

“Maybe I want you to say it,” he says, meeting her gaze.

Some people used to say that Kuroko Tetsuya’s gaze was empty. He’d like to say that knows better, and that more specifically, he knows her better. It’s not empty. It’s just tired, and shut off, and it’s reflective of how much she always tries to close herself off.

“Why?” She’s deflecting a little now, though not because she doesn’t want to talk about it. It’s because she’s genuinely curious about his intentions.

“Call me selfish,” he says, shrugging. “Most people do. I’m not exactly a nice person, you know. But I want to understand. And this may be one of my only chances to do that.”

Before she shuts herself back into basketball again, plotting to take them all down.

“Why did you quit basketball?”

“Because you all hurt my friend,” Kuroko says quietly. “And you caught me between.”

Kise doesn’t speak up. He thinks about that boy from that one match, the numbers ringing in his head. ‘111-11.’

“I told him a lot of things, you know. About all of you. I told him that after the match, we’d go out, and I’d introduce him to Tetsu’s friends and my friends, that he and Aomine could get along with basketball, that he and Midorima could be weird together about superstitious things, that… there were so many things I wanted.” He sees her look at the streetlight. “I planned out everything about that night after the championship. Even if you all were changing, I wanted it to be perfect. I needed it to be perfect. I wanted all of you to be happy together. I did so many things for that aim, because I knew Tetsu would have loved it, and so would my friends.”

There’s something fragile to her words, and yet cold. He thinks about Kuroko crying on the court, he thinks about her screaming at them in the locker room before she ran out and disappeared from their school lives. He feels chilled to the bone.

“But then you guys hurt him,” she says. “And I went to Tetsu and I cried because I drove away our childhood friend.”

“Then why are you trying to save us?” He says curiously, yet slowly—not wanting to cut into her anymore, not when she already looks hurt.

Kuroko shrugs. “Because I’m bad at letting go of things I should let go of,” she says. “Let’s not talk about that anymore, Kise-kun.” She’s back to her blase tone, and he lets the tone of the conversation shift. He doesn’t want to talk about it anymore anyway.

He nods. “So,” he says, “you saw Midorimacchi today?”

“Yeah,” she says. “I guess that he came to scout us. I hope that no one recognised him, or it might cause some trouble for him.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Kise yawns. “He told me off just now. I told him Seirin was sure to defeat Shutoku, so go ahead and do that, yeah?”

Kuroko blinks slowly. “You told him… why? I thought you didn’t think I could—”

“Come on!” He folds a leg over the other. “The Kingfisher against the school of kings? It’s a match made in heaven. For you, I mean. For them, it’s a match made in hell.” He has complete confidence in her. “Even if you’re holding back, I bet that you’ll still beat Midorimacchi. And also, we actually have a bet on, so I’d like to win that too. Take that into account, alright?”

She stares at him. She looks like she might laugh for a moment, before she calms herself quickly. “Sure,” Kuroko says. “Though I’ll win for Seirin. You getting anything from him is just a side effect.”

He does laugh. “Sure, sure. Cross my heart and hope to die. We never had this conversation.”

They share a smile. Kuroko takes out a water bottle, drinking from it.

Ok, is there anything else he wants to ask her about?

Right.

“Do you like Kagamicchi?”

Kuroko quietly chokes on her water, before she looks up. “No,” she says. “Absolutely not. He’s kind of like Murasakibara-kun—a bit of an older brother type to me. Tetsu would like him too, I think.”

Kise nods slowly.

“You ask that about everyone we meet,” she chides. “Just cause I’m a girl, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to have a crush on everyone I meet.”

Kise grins. “Yeah, yeah. But you know. I’ll still ask. After all, I need to make sure whoever likes you treats you right!”

“White knighting isn’t needed,” she says cuttingly.

“Kurokocchi!” He whines, though it’s a clear joke.

This mix of seriousness and normalcy, as though balancing on a tightrope… this is their new normal now. Obviously, it’s different, and stressful…

But he thinks that he might grow to like it.

* * *

**#24.5: Traffic: Black**

As they sit there, something odd happens.

A rickshaw comes down the road. That would be odd enough on its own, but then she sees the green hair on the rider’s head, and both she and Kise stare at Midorima judgmentally as he looks up to see them and stares back.

The dark-haired boy pulling the rickshaw looks at them as well, and mouths out ‘help me’ dramatically. 

Kise looks away first, dooming him to his fate. Kuroko calmly takes out her phone, snapping a shot of the rickshaw.

Momoi will want to see this.

Traffic moves. Midorima leaves on the rickshaw.

Kise collapses on the bench in laughter. Kuroko rolls her eyes, amused too.

“Do you think he rides that thing to school everyday?” Kise finally manages.

“I would not put it past Midorima-kun.”

Kise starts laughing again. She sits there, wondering if she should tell him about the dark-haired boy pulling the rickshaw.

There’s no point. Never mind.

She carries on listening to him let out laughter, now practically wheezing, while holding in her own laughter, barely letting out a smile.

She's honestly not even surprised.

* * *

**#25: Lights: Black**

“So, about Kagamicchi,” Kise says. “Doesn’t he remind you a bit of Aominecchi?”

Kuroko glances at her hands. “I’d be lying if I said he didn’t,” she says. “But really, that was more of a coincidence than anything. I did not join Seirin for Kagami-kun. And if I thought that Kagami-kun was much like Aomine-kun, I’d never have chosen him to be my partner in the first place.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“But you and Aominecchi—”

“Aomine-kun was Tetsu’s best friend,” Kuroko says. “My synergy with the rest of you was nearly indistinguishable from the rest of you with Tetsu… but mine with him? It was never the same.”

“But he was your friend,” Kise says cautiously. Kuroko shrugs.

Yeah. Aomine was her friend, for all that was worth.

But she doesn’t really know Aomine, either. Not the Aomine that Tetsu always spoke so fondly of, not the Aomine before they became the Generation of Miracles. She knows for a fact that this Aomine is wrapped up in so many layers of frustration and hurt that he’s buried himself deep within all of it.

_ “The only one who can beat me is me.” _

“I sometimes wonder if it was because I couldn’t support him as well as Tetsu that he cracked so easily,” Kuroko admits. “But that’s all, really.  _ Tetsu _ would have done a better job, in all of this. I’m just trying and failing to fill his shoes.”

Kise looks up, as though staring into something far, far away. “We’d all have broken anyway,” he says quietly.

She lowers her head. “We don’t know that,” she says.

No, she does.

_ Talent breaks the shoulders of those who carry its burden. _

That is what their coach once told her, a long time ago.

Maybe it wouldn’t have been better if it was Tetsu. But she’d rather lie to herself, lie and lie—

“Kagamicchi will probably break too,” Kise says.

“That won’t happen,” she says. “Seirin… we’re strong, but we’re not strong like you guys. Even if Kagami-kun is our ace, he won’t eclipse us, and no one will allow him to forget that we’re a team.”

“When you say no one…”

“I won’t,” Kuroko says firmly. “I won’t ever allow that to happen. And even if I fail… Seirin’s pretty good.”

Kise gives her a fond smile. “Yeah,” he says. “You picked a good team.”

She hears someone clearing their throat behind her, before a hand lands on her shoulder. She turns to see Kagami grinning. “Damn straight,” he says. She observes his face. Ah, so he didn’t come early enough to hear her talking about Tetsu. That’s her greatest secret, and she doesn’t want to deal with that being revealed so early. “Sup, Kise.”

“Kagamicchi,” Kise says with a grin of his own. They both stare at each other, intense looks on their faces. Kuroko rolls her eyes, before something catches her eye from the nearby court. As the duo have their machismo-filled banter, she sneaks over to the nearby court, catching the ball as she moves by, unseen.

Afterwards, Kise and Kagami yell at her about going over there by herself and stepping in.

_ “I would’ve been crushed. Look at these guns.” _

_ “You don’t have any!” _

She stands by her own decision, however.

(It still warms her heart when they stand up for her, however. She doesn’t say it aloud, but seeing them together like that? It gives her just a little more hope.)

(It’s not like… not even Kise is saved yet, honestly. They have to be the ones to save themselves. But it’s already more than she expected, and…)

(She’s moving in the right direction.)

“Kagami-kun, did you finish your fish and burgers?”

“Huh? I left it to the rest of the team. Why?”

Kise and Kuroko exchange a look. “You’re doomed,” Kise says.

“Yeah,” she says. “They won’t be able to finish it without Kagami-kun.”

“Doomed, I’m telling you.”

But they’re smiling, and maybe that’s enough for now.

They part ways, and head back to the restaurant. Most of the team is outside already, with tons of packed-up food in their hands. Aida passes her a bag of food, which she accepts. Murasakibara-san never takes no for an answer, after all. Then, she walks over to the side, checking what’s inside.

It’s there that she hears a soft growl.

She leans down, and she finds a small box. Flipping it over—

A small, black and white dog looks up at her, with blue eyes.

She picks it up slowly, and it licks her hand messily.

Kuroko turns over to her team, walking over with the dog.

Pandemonium ensues.

In the end, after they’ve assured Kagami that Nigou (named by the rest of the team) is not going to attack him, it comes to the other problem—whether they can actually keep him. In the end, Kuroko suggests something simple.

“If I can get Kagami-kun to like him, can we keep him?”

Coach agrees, and that’s the end of it. Kuroko decides to keep the dog for now, because she does like them.

And besides…

She used to be part of the Generation of Miracles. She and Momoi are far too used to wrangling basketball idiots.

She will get Kagami to like Nigou, no matter the cost.

… she’s getting a bit too intense. She should probably tone it down a bit.

“Let’s go,” Coach says, and they follow her.

_ Today was a victory. _

_ I’m certain that with this team… there’ll be many more to come. _

* * *

**#25.5: Food Wars: Seirin**

“Eat faster!” Riko hisses to him, shooting a furtive glance backwards. The mountain of food on the table has barely decreased in amount since Kagami left, but Kuroko’s cryptic warning about wasting food has them all chewing in overdrive. Furihata has already passed out on the ground from rice overdose, and Fukuda and Kawahara are desperately alternating between trying to revive him and continuing in his stead. Hyuga nods, chewing down more, mentally thinking of the torture that he’ll visit upon Kagami for abandoning them. (And Kuroko. Right, Kuroko, for starting this whole chain of events in the first place.)

“Would you like some bags?” Murasakibara-san says, beaming as she holds out some plastic bags. “You can take it home to eat too, if you don’t have much time here. Wasting food is terrible!”

Something about the way that she says that last line makes him shudder. He’d believe Kuroko if he said that this woman would hunt them down if they didn’t finish it.

Riko accepts the bag, and they start packing up. Furihata eventually wakes up, though he looks like he wants to faint the moment Izuki makes a joke about him ‘rice-ing to the occasion.’

Hyuga doesn’t exactly blame him. He does know who he blames though, so after Riko gets through the moment of cooing over Nigou, he steps next to Kuroko.

“What are you planning?” He asks his junior.

“Would you like to suggest anything, senpai?” Kuroko says, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe get Nigou to follow him around during practice. They could run laps together.”

“Captain, you must really want Kagami-kun to suffer.”

“N-nonsense! I just like Nigou!”

Kuroko looks away, a knowing look on his face. “As you say, captain.” He doesn’t seem opposed to it, so Hyuga leaves him be, still seething.

Wait, if that’s his punishment for Kagami, is there a punishment for Kuroko?

He’ll think about it later.


End file.
